'He's a very talented young player' - the schoolboy star given a rare chance at Wolves

The 16-year-old midfielder has trained with the Wolves first team already this season and featured for the under-21s, but he made the ultimate step on the weekend when he was included in the match day squad for Wolves' Premier League clash with Bournemouth. 

Ladislav Krejci was suffering with the flu and made a late decision not to train last Friday, the day before the game, opening the door for Abbey.

The England under-17s international was pulled out of maths class at Thomas Telford School and rushed to Compton to mix it with the first team stars in an opportunity most youngsters can only dream of.

Head coach Rob Edwards said: "The headmaster came in to get him, so that's a nice moment that, isn't it? We all dream of that moment when we're a youngster in school.

"We had to call him late and he got out of class.

"We knew he wasn't going to be there for the warm-up and he rushed down and actually apologised for being late - but I said 'it's not your fault, mate, you didn't even know you were going to be training an hour ago'. He's a lovely lad.

"Krejci was ill throughout the week and we didn't know whether he was going to be available for training. 

"He wasn't, so we wanted an extra one to come up. The under-21s had travelled up to Newcastle for nothing and so Jerome came in to train with us and then it was a nice moment for him."

Abbey has a long history with Wolves already, having started at the club at the age of six and progressing through every age group in the academy.

There is family history for the Abbey's, too, with brothers Jez and Jed both spending time in the Wolves academy in their youth and both also representing AFC Telford United.

The pair both play non-league football now and are watching with a key eye and plenty of pride as their younger brother forges his own path in the game.

Jez, posting on X when his brother was named in the senior squad, said: "Played in an U16 school game Thursday, pulled out from year 11 maths class in school on the Friday to train with the first team, Premier League bench on the Saturday, back to school on Monday."

Wolves are always keen to bring through the next exciting talent - highlighted by Mateus Mane's rise this season - and Edwards is no stranger to giving talented players a chance.

The head coach added: "He's a really exciting young player that we've got high hopes for. It's a nice bit of experience for him. He's got to continue to keep working hard, he's a fantastic young man.

"I actually worked with his Jed brother as well, he was at the football club a few years back. A lovely family, he's a lovely boy and he's a very talented young player."